Ecuador

Monday 6/27/2011 - Departure

We woke up at 3 a.m. after fitful sleeps. The house lit up at 3:30, and Yupanqui started to cry. At 3:45, we headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Rosa was braiding Sisa's hair. Sisa was bright eyed and chipper and gave hugs and kisses freely. At 3:55, we heard a horn outside and the driver was there. Perfect; he was even 5 minutes early!

We packed up the car. The family grabbed blankets and wrapped up tight. We sat in the back seats with Rosa and Sisa. Aida and Yupanqui sat in the middle and Antonio sat in the front. Rosa continued to do Sisa's braids in the darkness. She has done it so many times she can literally do it in the dark. Antonio had said that he likes Sisa to be dressed traditionally when she goes into the city. She was, with the addition of her Hello Kitty cardigan to keep her nice and cozy.

Sisa was chattering up a storm. Yupanqui was now wide awake and smiled a lot. I guess he got over his initial annoyance about getting up so early. We climbed the mountains in our little minivan, weighed down by 7 passengers. We couldn't go all that fast uphill, and we were passed on a two lane highway; buses passed us which meant that they were veering into head-on traffic. It was best not to pay too much attention.

Sisa fell sound asleep, but woke up again once we were inside the Quito city limits. She woke up smiling, which is not always the case.

We arrived at the airport at 6:35 a.m., exactly 2 hours and 30 minutes after leaving the house. Yupanqui was asleep by now. The family accompanied us into the departure lounge. We got 2 hugs from everyone and they said they will be waiting for us to return. Sisa waved as they exited the building.

Having taken that two and a half hour ride after drinking some coffee, we each made a pit stop at the rest room before checking in at the American Airlines counter. Since we had booked with reward miles, we had certain perks releated to AA Priority Access.

We went through security and there was no line. The gate was empty, too. We browsed in the bookstore and got to the gate by 7:20. We saw on the departure board that a flight to Miami was just taking off at 7:25. We made such good time to the airport that we almost could have made that flight!

We were the only ones at the gate for a long time. I wrote in my notebook and Craig read his book. At 9:15, they started boarding and we got to board early as Priority Access. We took off on time at 10:15. For lunch they offered us a choice between chicken or beef stroganoff. I love beef stroganoff, so we both ordered that. However, they gave me chicken instead. I was annoyed, but Craig told me that it wasn't so great; it was not much more than tough beef stew.

We landed in Miami at 3:35 p.m. The next flight was at 5:30. We saw two signs indicating how to get to passport control - one via the Sky Train and one not. We walked the long way. Nobody else did, and we wondered if we were making a mistake. But we got to an empty room where the customs guys were just shooting the shit with each other and nobody was waiting. We got through right away and then passed the big hall where everyone else was stuck in line. We had made the right choice, even if our legs were now quite tired.

Our bags were some of the first off the plane because of Priority Access status. Then we got into the huge line for customs to leave the baggage hall.

Once successfully through customs, we had to take the Sky Train to the gate. We got there 5 minutes before boarding and had no time to get food. Craig went to the bathroom then he boarded with my bag while I went to the bathroom. We could handle not eating, but we needed a bathroom pit stop!

The flight was ok. We ate snacks we had brought. Craig's ears hurt on descent. We landed at 8:55 p.m. We called Craig's brother Steve to pick us up. Our luggage was some of the first off the carousel again, due to Priorty Access. We went outside and soon Steve arrived to pick us up. He met us with Dunkies coffees and chocolate chip muffins. We stopped at Wendy's to get a quick supper. We arrived at the house at a little after 10 p.m.

The trip was a great success on all fronts. We really enjoyed being able to get to know the whole family over the course of two weeks. We liked being able to help with the preparations for Sisa's baptism and to be able to share in the unique way in which the Otavalan Kichwa people celebrate a baptism. We also got to fully participate in Inti Raymi, a festival which has pre- and post-Columbian roots. We are lucky to be a part of their family and community, and look forward to visiting again soon.

This was also Craig's first trip since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in April. He is on medication that he needs to inject every day, so it means traveling with syringes full of medication. We had no problems flying with the medicine (my metal hair barrette attracted more attention than the needles did). The climate in highland Ecuador was such that we didn't have to worry about the medicine getting too hot, so that was helpful. It was fortunate for us that our first trip with the injections was a trip where we got settled in one place and were able to get into a daily routine. We will have to work up to trips which have more challenging itineraries.
Aida and Yupanqui on the ride to the airport

Aida and Yupanqui on the ride to the airport

Aida and Yupanqui on the ride to the airport

Aida and Yupanqui on the ride to the airport

Arrival at the airport

Arrival at the airport

Sunrise over the mountain mist

Sunrise over the mountain mist

Saying goodbye at the Quito airport

Saying goodbye at the Quito airport

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